#1: If you look for the positive, you will find it. If you look for the negative, you’ll find it…

Reminders From a Mountain #1: If you look for the positive, you will find it. If you look for the negative, you’ll find it… in abundance.

I love and I mean absolutely love (to the point of slight obsession) reflections of mountains, trees, the clouds… really anything. I can literally walk past a puddle and get wildly excited if there is a clear reflection of the clouds or trees. So guess what? During hikes, I’m constantly looking for bodies of water that allow for reflections so I can just sit in awe about how cool it is. And at the end, it's what I'm excited to show people.

But when the bugs are out? I must be the amaretto gelato or my mom’s homemade cannoli to them (e.g. the best dessert they can find) and it’s pretty much all I can think about. Even the most beautiful places… I see one bug, then I see them EVERYWHERE. And trust me, I will run away. I will not stay still and enjoy the sight because I’m so consumed with the negative little buggers.

Now think about work: Is there someone that has said something frustrating - now every time they talk it just compounds your annoyance?

Or maybe they once said something offensive, now every time you have a conversation you hear other offensive things from them?

Or what about assuming negative intent?

All great ways to make yourself and other miserable.

Deciding to focus on the positive or negative can make or break any experience. Keep looking for the negative and it will be all you see. But focus on the positive and that will start to cloud out the rest. So let's focus on the reflections, shall we?